For several years, the online group Everything is Terrible has searched through ephemeral videotapes to find some truly weird art, much like the Found Footage Festival. But they’ve also had an even stranger side project to collect every known VHS copy of the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire. We still don’t really understand why they’ve undertaken […]
Continue readingHappy Birthday Kirk Douglas!
December 9th was the 100th birthday of Kirk Douglas. According to TCM: “The archetypal Hollywood movie star of the postwar era, Kirk Douglas built a career with he-man roles as soldiers, cowboys and assorted tough guys in over 80 films. His restless, raging creations earned him three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and one […]
Continue readingThe best movies of the year – spliced into one video
Every year, film critic David Ehrlich puts together a montage of what he considered the 25 best films of the year. Ehrlich’s tastes tend to lean towards interesting visuals, but we’re not complaining. His montages are visual feasts, so he gets to pick whatever he wants. Moonlight tops the list, understandably given the praise we’ve […]
Continue readingNew blood or old blood? What experienced directors bring to big movies
You might have missed that a new Steven Spielberg movie came out this year. The BFG was a bit of a flop, a surprise considering the beloved director at the helm. As movie studios are learning, director choice holds less and less sway over audiences as studios recruit new talent to headline their films somewhat […]
Continue readingNew Acquisitions – November 2016
The AU Library previously didn’t own The Karate Kid. This month, we fixed that. Our collection now also includes a slew of highly anticipated titles that you might have wanted to see, like Weiner, the startlingly intimate documentary about the downfall of Anthony Weiner. You can also now check out the second season of Outlander, […]
Continue readingWatch some cyberpunk movies for Cyber Monday
Today is the increasingly dated-sounding Cyber Monday, an online sales day commemorated when people still had to use their workplace computers to get online. For an event with a name as silly as Cyber Monday, the only appropriate film genre to watch today is cyberpunk. If you haven’t seen any such movies before, cyberpunk is […]
Continue readingKanopy Highlights: Ajami
About a year ago, we rolled out Kanopy, a streaming service that includes hundreds of films from the Criterion Collection and more. We’re happy to see classes and students taking advantage of this great video resource, and we want to spotlight some of the most popular titles from this collection. This week, we’re focusing on […]
Continue readingIn College Park? Learn about the Coen brothers from an AU professor
Most people reading this blog are probably based in and around Tenleytown, but if you’re out in the ‘burbs, you have to a chance to hear an AU literature professor share their knowledge. Professor Erik Dussere (friend of Media Services) will be at the University of Maryland on Friday, November 18th for “Weird American Odysseys: […]
Continue readingA closer look at the realities of an awards bait movie
We’re only two months from the start of awards season, which means all the high-profile Oscar contenders about serious, relevant social issues are hitting theaters. Or, as someone more cynical might put it, all the Oscar bait has finally been released into the waters. Filmmakers want to tell meaningful, engaging movies, but to be frank, […]
Continue readingLook inside the Library of Congress’s explosive film vault
Drive down to Culpepper, VA and you’ll find the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, home to the Library of Congress’s film archive. This is where preservationists keep a massive storehouse of tens of thousands of films – classics, flops, and even reportedly Jerry Lewis’s unreleased disaster The Day the Clown Cried. YouTube channel Great Big Story […]
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